Jon Caldara is an American

libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...

activist who serves as the president of the

Independence Institute The Independence Institute (II) is a libertarian think tank based in Denver, Colorado. The group's stated mission "is to empower individuals and to educate citizens, legislators and opinion makers about public policies that enhance personal and ...

. He is a radio host and has a current events show, ''Devil's Advocate with Jon Caldara'', that airs on KBDI-TV PBS 12 in Denver, Colorado.

Early life and education

Caldara was born in

Trenton, New Jersey Trenton is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. It was the capital of the United States from November 1 to December 24, 1784.Heritage High School and the

University of Colorado Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University of Colorado syst ...

. While in college, he drew a comic strip called ''B Street.'' After college, Caldara worked as a

roadie The road crew (or roadies) are the technicians or support personnel who travel with a band on tour, usually in sleeper buses, and handle every part of the concert productions except actually performing the music with the musicians. This catc ...

setting up stage equipment for rock bands. He later started a stage lighting business.

Public policy career

Caldara was elected to the board of directors for the

Regional Transportation District The Regional Transportation District, more commonly referred to as RTD, is the regional agency operating public transit services in eight out of the twelve counties in the Denver-Aurora-Boulder Combined Statistical Area in the U.S. state of Col ...

, eventually becoming chairman. He replaced

Tom Tancredo Thomas Gerard Tancredo (; born December 20, 1945) is an American politician from Colorado, who represented the state's sixth congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1999 to 2009 as a Republican. He ran for Presi ...

as president of the

, a Colorado think tank, in 1998.

Voter registration protest

When the Colorado legislature relaxed voter registration requirements to allowed people to register in a jurisdiction if they declared their intent to move there, Caldara objected. He decided to test the law by declaring his intent to move to Colorado Springs (Caldara is a long-time resident of Boulder, Colorado) in order to vote in a recall election there. In September 2013, Caldara cast a blank ballot, but never moved to Colorado Springs, although he sublet a room there for a brief time. Colorado Attorney General

John Suthers John William Suthers (born October 18, 1951) is an American attorney and politician serving as the Mayor of Colorado Springs, Colorado. He previously served as the Attorney General of Colorado, U.S. Attorney for Colorado, Executive Director of th ...

investigated Caldara for voting fraud, but decided against prosecuting him. Suthers called the incident "suspicious," and said that it was questionable that Caldara ever intended to become an El Paso County resident. However, Suthers noted "arguable ambiguity” in the same-day voter law, and took no action. Caldara’s answer to his critics was: "I told you what I did was legal, neener-neener-neener."

Personal life

Caldara is the father of three children, one of whom died of cancer when she was one year old. His son has

Down syndrome Down syndrome or Down's syndrome, also known as trisomy 21, is a genetic disorder caused by the presence of all or part of a third copy of chromosome 21. It is usually associated with physical growth delays, mild to moderate intellectual dis ...

References

External links